Choosing between several grammar schools and areas to live nearby

[L186]

According to your experience and knowledge, how will/did you choose from the following grammar schools if your DS qualified for all of them? also considering if the surrounding areas are safe, convenient and nice to live for families. Moving nearby to the school is one of the idea in the near future, also one of the important elements to make the final decision as I’m sure all the schools are fantastic in different criteria, just need to find a better fit one.

Offering OOC places with enough high scores:

• Dartford Grammar school,
• The Judd School,
• Sutton Grammar School,
• Wallington county grammar school,
• Colchester Royal Grammar school,
• Westcliff high school for boys,

Need to move into their designated areas:

• The Latymer school,
• King Edward VI grammar school Chelmsford,

Any thoughts, facts and opinions are welcome.

we have just gone through the Sutton grammar process - with a place at WCGS. You should note for the Sutton schools, they often pass around 800 boys but only have a PAN of 150 so far more pass than will ever get an offer. It's worth bearing in mind before committing to the process.

Congratulations!
Are you local? Or will move there later before school starts?
What made you to choose this area to live and this school for your DS?
Thanks

we live near to Crystal Palace already so fairly local. But we understood how hard it would be so looked at other non-selective schools. My son sat the 11+which is for the 3 boys schools and he passed for 2 so we put those 2 down. Open days are in June which cemented our choice

I believe you’ve started two threads on those?

The schools you have listed are very widespread, from Essex to Kent. What makes you think you’re realistically going to get one of the places, when it’s measured on distance (unless you fulfil another criteria)? These places will be harder to get, due to the private school VAT situation, which has increased their costs, and decreased the value and number of bursaries.

Colchester to Tonbridge is eighty miles apart. Are these schools realistically going to give a school place to someone who lives forty miles away, presuming you live half way between the two.

Some are “super selective”, at least in part, so places go to highest scorers on test regardless of address rather than setting a passmark and ordering those who qualify by distance etc. Agree op is dithering rather late in the process and should have been more focussed on areas before entering the 11+ process. Waiting lists will not move much and probably not at all during summer term (usually places are released at beginning of term if they opt to go private instead). Poor kid who must have sat multiple exams yet parents are still not satisfied with what they have achieved and the place offered.

I presumed that the boy hadn’t set the tests yet.

Not a according to the other thread
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/secondary/5504445-how-to-choose-between-these-grammar-schools-and-nearby-family-areas?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=app_share

Yes, thank you very much. I’m new to this forum and posted it here initially but soon find it’s more suitable for Secondary Education. Thanks.

@L186

Have you contacted the individual schools to see where you are on the waiting lists, and how far the distance criteria reached in previous years? You may get a better idea of where you stand then.

I think we can only know about these in the end of March or April. They are not ranked by distance but by exam scores.

Assuming that CRGS isn't the offer yoir DS currently holds, you can check his position on the waiting list there online from Monday 23rd am - if you are not an Essex resident, ypu need to contact Essex school admissions to get the relevant reference number. The Westcliff waiting list will be held by the Admissions team at Southend City Council. In neither Essex nor Southend do the individual schools hold their own waiting lists until the end of August.